Crimson Games
by Shimmering-Sky
Summary: The rebellion failed. One hundred years later, and the Games have still not been abolished. One young woman is determined to win, and with her best friend as the male tribute, she has nothing to fear. Right?
1. Chapter 1: Reaping Day

**_I'm sorry. I tried. I tried to hold this off from being posted as long as I could, but…_**

**_Anyways. This is basically extremely AU. In this, the rebellion in Mockingjay failed (there will be references to it/HG characters from time to time), and basically all of the 5Ds characters live in some District (or the Capitol). And their ages are different. And I might change around their personalities some. Oh, and Katniss' way of volunteering is a thing, instead of the escort person asking for volunteers. They just, well, shout out._**

**_…Yeah. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or The Hunger Games. I own my OCs, though, and some of this plot. Enjoy…?_**

**Chapter 1**

If I don't get reaped, I'm going to volunteer this year. It's what I've trained for, every free moment I've had for the past year. With several of the orphans I take care of with Crow and Angel within the age limit for how old the tributes have to be, combined with the fact that mine and Angel's names have definitely been put in dozens of times because we've all needed supplies, odds are at least one of us is going to be reaped.

My only condolence is that Shoshan turned nineteen last week, and his name can't be pulled. He could never kill anyone, even in a kill-or-be-killed situation. Also, he has asthma—a major hindrance to basically _everything_ he'd have to do in the Arena.

I sigh, pulling my hair back up with my ribbon. I look at myself in the mirror. A touch of makeup (blech) to cover a bruise forming under my left eye. I don't see anything wrong with the rest of my face, so I just look at my own eyes.

I can see my own determination in them, but I also see the underlying sorrow and regret.

Sorrow that wasn't there last year. Regret that I let them take away my sister.

Like a scab was just ripped off a fresh wound, all of the raw emotions hit at once, and tears well up in my eyes. I grip the semi-broken sink and blink them away._ Quit crying,_ I tell myself. _She's been dead for a year now. There's no reason for it to hurt this much._

Someone knocks gently on the door, and I let go of the sink. "Who is it?"

"Kokoro," the young girl replies, her voice squeaking the way it does when she's nervous. "Can… can I talk to… you?"

"Of course," I reply.

The twelve-year-old with reddish brown hair slowly opens the door and steps into the bathroom. She has on the nicer of her two pink dresses. By nicer, I mean it isn't torn at one of the shoulders, and there isn't a stain at the bottom. Her eyes are puffed up, though, and still wet with tears.

I kneel down and pull Kokoro into a gentle hug. As soon as I do so, I feel her shoulders shake uncontrollably. "What if my name gets picked?" she sobs into my ear.

"It won't," I whisper into her ear. Even if it does, I'm stepping up. "You have nothing to fear, Koko." After all, what's one slip in thousands, when mine is in… oh, I lost count at fifty.

She sniffs. "Are… are you sure, nee-chan?"

I lean out of the hug, and lock eyes with her. I offer her a smile, and nod. "I promise you, you aren't going to participate in the Games this year."

Kokoro wipes away some of her tears with the back of her right wrist. "O-Okay, I believe you."

**XXX**

Reaping Day. It's the one day of the year everyone dreads, because it means that it might be the last day one stays in their District, or it might be the day a loved one gets taken away. The former is what I have to deal with, but I'm not afraid. I'll make it through the Games this year, no matter what.

For my sister, who almost won last year.

And for my father, who won't be able to bear losing both of his daughters. He still won't tell me what happened to my mother, or the supposed brother I have…

I stand in the crowd of possible female tributes, Kokoro to my right and gripping my hand tightly, and my best friend Angel on my left. To Angel's left is Hikari, the other female orphan who has on a light-blue dress and has dark hair. I don't really know any of the other girls who surround us.

The 'sort everyone by age' thing was done away with a few years ago. Something about a shred of kindness; a little more time for the reaped to spend with their friends or siblings that are also between the ages of twelve and eighteen.

Everyone gets quiet as the escort from the Capitol takes the stage. It's some lady that looks like she belongs in a circus, with electric-blue hair, a bunch of makeup on, and some sort of dress that matches her hair color practically glued to her body. I never catch her name.

She goes on and follows the boring procedure of showing us the video about why the Hunger Games came into existence.

There are two rebellions on record. The one that caused the Games to exist—that one was about a hundred and seventy-five years ago, and ended with District 13 being utterly destroyed.

The second, almost exactly a century ago, ended with most of the Districts on the brink of destruction, forced to surrender by the then-President Snow. The names of the higher-ups in the rebellion are lost to history… or, in my opinion, purposely erased.

One thing I _do_ know, from digging through the archives in the library here, is that there was a girl at the front of the rebellion. Though the records didn't have her name, it did call her the 'Girl on Fire'.

After that, it's time for the drawing of the names. Two glass bowls rest on the stage. The one on the left for guys and the one on the right for girls. But before the clown-lady does anything, she smiles at us and says, "Ah yes, before I forget, I must tell you about the special rules this time, as it is a Quarter Quell!"

Yeah, it's a Quarter Quell all right. This year is the 175th Hunger Games…

"The environment in the arena will change every other day, but…" she trails off, likely trying to gain suspense, "as a reward, two people can win this year!"

At this, my eyes widen. Two people can win the games? Then that means… I look at the group of potential male tributes. _I won't have to kill one of them. _A strange feeling of relief settles itself inside of me.

Once the uproar the statement of two victors caused dies down, the woman walks over to the bowl on the left. She reaches in, stirs her hand around a little, and pulls out a card. Opening it, she reads off, "Crow Hogan!"

Angel flinches, and both Hikari and Kokoro freeze up. "Of course, it's our last year and he has to get picked," Angel says.

"At least he seems confident," I say. "Look, he still has that stupid grin on his face."

Crow does, in fact, still have on the smile I've never seen him without except when _she_ died. Several Peacekeepers escort him to the stage, and the smile stays on the entire time.

Clown-lady now goes over to the female bowl, and pulls out a card. She clears her throat. "And the female tribute from District 5 is… Kokoro Ward!"

For a moment, my insides freeze. One card… just one… while I have more than fifty…

"No!" Kokoro screeches, pulling my arm. "No! You promised I wouldn't get picked!"

Instantly, Angel steps up. "I volun—"

"I volunteer as tribute!" I shout over Angel's statement and Kokoro's screaming.

The entire square goes silent. District 5 has not had a volunteer in over twenty years. My father remembers a time when an eighteen-year-old volunteered in place of his thirteen-year-old (supposedly extremely frail) younger brother—that was twenty-eight years ago. And now, here I am, stepping up.

I _should_ have stepped up last year. I still remember her panicking look, pleading for me to do something. I didn't; I couldn't, because I couldn't even move.

I still see that look in my nightmares…

"No!" I hear a duet of male voices shout.

I look over to the section of people either too old or too young to be eligible for reaping. My father and Shoshan have both wormed their way to the front, both staring at me. Shoshan with worry, and my father with anger.

My head falls as the Peacekeepers lead me to the stage. Once on it, I hold my head high.

No one claps. Not one person. They're all silent, except for Kokoro sobbing while Angel tries to comfort her.

"A volunteer, huh? What's your name, sweetie?" clown-lady asks. Her breath smells like a disgusting combination of pineapple, mint, and honey. It's too strong, and almost makes me throw up. Right here, in front of thousands, no, _millions_ of people, because of the cameras.

"Sky Fudo," I reply.

"Fudo? Hmm… ah! You must be related to last year's tribute!" clown-lady exclaims. "What was her name…? Naomi? Natalie? No, no, it was Natsumi! Are you her older sister?"

I flinch at the fact that she says her name with so much cheer. "Yes," I answer, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. "Natsumi… was my younger sister."

"Alright," clown-lady says, turning back to face the crowd. "District 5, we have your tributes!"

I look over to Crow, who purposely grins even wider than he already is.

I can't help myself, but a small smile appears on my face as clown-lady grabs my arm and raises it high.

_For you, Natsumi,_ I think. _This is for you._

**To be continued…**

**_That's all for this chapter. Yes, Natsumi's death is going to be important later on. Especially once Sky meets the other tributes, because the victor of the 174th Games—the one Natsumi lost in—is related to one of them. *Evil grin*_**

**_I hope you all enjoyed and stuff. Leave a review if you want me to continue, okay?_**


	2. Chapter 2: Goodbye and Hello

**_Thanks to Hope Hoshiko, Ulrich362, and mcdinh, the three who reviewed the previous chapter! Your support means a lot!_**

**_This chapter should continue developing backstory. Not quite at the Capitol yet._**

**_Still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or The Hunger Games. So, here's the next installment!_**

**Chapter 2**

One hour. That's how long I'm given to meet with whoever wants to see me. That's how much longer I'll be able to stay in District 5.

Kokoro, Hikari, and several other orphans come first. They make me pinkie promise to come back with Crow, and then give me a homemade card, with all of them having doodled something and signed their names. I accept it with a smile, determined to keep it with me until the Games start.

Next is Angel. For the first minute (though it feels like eternity), she simply stares at me with her grey eyes. Then she says, "I don't know if you're brave or an idiot. Or both."

"Both," I reply. "I'm probably both."

My best friend and adopted sister laughs a little. It sounds forced. "Yeah, you've got that right. Brave for volunteering in place of Kokoro, and an idiot for just plain volunteering."

"I'm going to win, Angel," I say. "I'm going to win the Games, with Crow at my side, and then we'll be able to reap the benefits and not have to rely so much on the tesserae to help keep the orphanage open."

Reap. Maybe not the best choice of words on a day like this. It hurts Angel more than if I'd sucker punched her in the gut (which I may or may not have done several months ago in anger). She throws her arms around me, pulls me tight, and I can feel my shoulder turn wet. "P-Please, swear that you-you'll keep Crow safe. That you'll b-both come back."

I pull Angel off of my shoulder and look her square in the eyes. "I swear it. As long as I'm alive, I won't let _anything_—trap or fellow tribute alike—hurt Crow. And you know as well as I do I'm too stubborn to let anything kill me."

With that, she laughs again, and it sounds genuine this time. She wipes away her tears with the back of her arm. "I believe you."

Someone knocks on the door, before entering. I look up. It's Shoshan, in clean jeans (though there's a hole below his left knee), and a white shirt, also clean, but not torn. "May I come in?"

"Sure," Angel replies. "I just finished, anyways." She looks at me one last time. "Remember your promise."

With that, my orange-haired friend slides past my boyfriend. He closes the door behind her, and then faces me. "I assume, when she said 'promise', she means that you won't lose in there, right?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say. "I made a similar promise to the little nerds. Crow and I will both be coming back."

"Good… That's good. We can get married when you come back, then," Shoshan says.

"Yes, that sounds like a good pl—wait, what?" I ask, realizing what he just said. "Shoshan, are you…?"

He pulls a box out of his pocket. It's small, and black. In it is a ring; a simple gold band with a small emerald on it.

Most girls would want diamonds, if their would-be fiancé could afford a ring like this. But not me. I don't like diamonds, or any other precious stone, because they come right from the oh-so-smug District 1. Emeralds, though, are the only ones I like. Apparently, they're my birthstone.

I don't even want to know what tremendous amount of bartering this cost him.

"I was going to wait for your birthday," he says. "Give you the surprise of a lifetime. But since you… well… I decided to give it to you now. Sky Fudo, when you come back from the Hunger Games, will you marry me?"

"Of _course_ I will!" my voice is little more than a whisper as I can feel my insides melt.

_Did I make the right choice? Should I have volunteered? Angel was _going_ to, I mean, I interrupted her… _

_What if… what if I don't win…? It'll break Shoshan's heart… _

_No, I shouldn't think like this. I _will_ come back, and I _will_ have my happy ever after with him… or as close to 'happy' as we can get._

He slides the ring onto my finger. It's cool, and it fits snugly. Then he presses his lips firmly onto mine, and I return the kiss while trying not to cry.

This time, it's not a knock on the door, but loud banging. "Time's up," the voice of a male Peacekeeper tells me, forcefully opening the door.

Shoshan reluctantly pulls away from me. "I… I love you, Sky."

"I love you too, Shoshan," I reply. Then I gasp. My father hadn't come yet! "Shoshan! Please… tell my father he won't have to worry, alright?"

"I will!"

"That's it, boy, time for you to go," the Peacekeeper, a forty-something man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes grabs Shoshan's arm and pulls him out the door.

I keep my eyes locked with my boyfr—my fiancé's—for as long as possible, before the door slams shut, leaving me to my own thoughts. If only for a few moments, because the door slams open again. Several Peacekeepers come in. My escorts to the train.

**XXX**

When I get on the train, Crow's already there, munching away at a ton of snack laid out on a table before us. He looks up, his face stuffed with chocolate or something like that, and grins. He says something, but I can't understand him because it comes out as muffled speech. I cross my arms as he holds up a finger, quickly chews the mouthful of candy, and swallows. "Sorry 'bout that… but you have to try these! They're the best thing _ever_ to have entered my mouth."

I raise an eyebrow. "Even better than Shoshan's cupcakes?" I _still_ don't know how he makes those, but they're extremely delicious. Of course, I only ever get them on my birthday. But… something tastes better than them?

He nods fervently. "Hell yeah they are."

Still skeptical, I take one of the candies. On closer inspection, they're actually small cookies with a hardened chocolate coating. Just so that I know what to expect from the cookie itself, I break it in half. The inside is orange. So… orange chocolate? I take a bite out of it, and my tastebuds soar.

"…So? Are they not the best thing ever?" Crow asks.

I finish the rest of the cookie, and reply, "Nope, I still like my boyf—" I pause for a moment, and a warm smile appears on my face as I look at my left hand. "I still like my _fiancé's_ cupcake's better."

He blinks, and for a moment, my orange-haired friend has a blank look on his face. "Wait… fiancé? You mean…"

"He proposed to me right before the Peacekeepers escorted me here," I reply. I subconsciously start twisting the ring on my finger. "We'll make it home for sure."

Crow slouches in his chair, and sighs. "Dammit, that means I lost the bet."

"…Bet?"

"Yeah, me and Ang had a bet going on. She though Shoshan would do it before your birthday, I didn't."

"Just curious, what was the prize?"

"I have to do her chores for a month… after we get back, of course," he replies. His grin is back, and he says, "I wonder what's taking them so long."

Them. The clown-lady and whoever our mentor is for this year. I don't remember who was supposed to be the mentor this year. Hopefully they're good, if not for my sake but for Crow's. Even when it comes to surviving, he can be an idiot sometimes.

As if those words were a cue, the train door slides open, and in walks the clown-lady. "Sorry for the wait, you two," she says. "There was an… issue with your mentor, and we had to find a replacement."

After she says that, I realize that someone was standing behind her the entire time. How I didn't notice him before is beyond me, since he towers over the clown-lady. Not _just_ someone, either.

My insides feel like they turn into frigid stone. I can't move. I can't breathe. And somehow, I manage to squeak out, "Father?"

Crow whacks my arm, snapping me out of my frozen state. When I catch his eyes, he demands, "Why didn't ya tell me your pop was a victor?"

"It's news to me too!" I exclaim. I look back at my father. His face is unreadable, but at least it doesn't look like he's angry. "Father, what…?"

"I'll answer your questions later," he replies. "For now, the two of you should get settled in your cabins."

I open my mouth to ask something else, but think better of it, and close my mouth. If he'll answer my questions later, I guess I'll… wait.

_My father… won one of the Hunger Games?_

_So then, why don't we live in the Victors' Village?_

_…And does this have anything to do with my dead mother and brother?_

**To be continued…**

**_Alright, that's enough plot twists for one chapter. Yes, I made Crow and Angel Sky's adopted siblings. It'll go into more detail later. Just like getting more details about how Sky's mother and brother supposedly died**… Heehee**…****_**

**_Hope you all enjoyed it! Please, leave a review if you did!_**


	3. Chapter 3: Accident

**_Thanks to Ulrich362, mcdinh, and Hope Hoshiko for reviewing the previous chapter, and Foxen Fudo for reviewing both chapter one and chapter two! Your support means a lot to me!_**

**_So, there's currently a Lucy vs. my other muses war in my mind. Thankfully Lucy hasn't taken anything out on this specific chapter, seeing as how the ideas for this chapter existed BEFORE she pissed everyone off._**

**_More backstory is getting developed in this chapter. Not everything, but definitely more._**

**_Well, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games. Even so, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

**Chapter 3**

Apparently, by "cabin", they mean an entire train car to myself. Complete with a bathroom and a mini-fridge. I'm not complaining, really, since I've never had my own room. Blame it on the fact that Crow and Angel live with my father and I, in a two-bedroom apartment. It was even worse when… Natsumi and Yoshi were still alive.

…I wish they were still here. I wish that Mikio hadn't stabbed them in the back just so that he could win. He betrayed their trust… It was all I could do to _not_ try to strangle him during his Victory Tour. It was his fault I lost two siblings that day, one by blood and one by adoption.

I let out a huge sigh, falling down on the bed in the center of the cabin. It's extremely soft, unlike my bed at home. A small smile appears on my face, and I whisper, "I could get used to this."

"Get used to what?"

I jump up, spinning around and glaring at the ginger. He's changed out of his reaping outfit, back into his worn-out jeans and black tank top. He grins at me, despite my glare. I growl, "Knock next time, won't you?"

"As if me barging in on you isn't normal?" Crow replies. "C'mon Sky, ya gotta lighten up a little."

"And every time you _do_ barge in, I tell you to knock!" I shout back. "_You_ need to get it through your thick skull that I like my privacy!"

He shrugs. "Anyways, I talked to your dad. Said he'd come here in half an hour. Y'know, for explanations."

"Right. Explanations." I can't believe he would keep a secret as large as this from me. "An hour, you said?"

"Yep."

"Then get out, please," I say. "I'm going to clean up and change into some more comfortable clothes." Otherwise known as _anything other than the dress I am wearing_. I've never been a fan of them, mostly because of Crow being, well, Crow.

"Whatever…" he says. "Call me when he comes?"

"Sure thing."

**XXX**

The bathroom looks pretty fancy, at least to me. I don't think it'd be much to Capitol standards. But the shower has hot water that doesn't run out after five minutes, and soap that smells like lilies. It's good enough for me.

I wrap my hair in a towel, and pull on my change of clothes. My own tank top, a white one with some sort of golden design on it, and my jeans are a lot more comfortable than the bland cotton dress I wore earlier.

Looking at the clock, I realize it's only been twenty minutes. Ten more to spend doing… something. I'm tempted to explore the rest of the train, but I might not get back here in time.

And getting answers is a whole lot more important to my curiosity than this train.

Someone knocks on the door. Considering Crow's habit of just entering, it can't be him. Meaning, it must be… I hop off my bed, and answer the door. It's as I suspected—my father is the one there. His face is still unreadable, but I let him in. He sits on one of the chairs in my room, and crosses his legs. "So… where do you want me to start?"

"Hold that thought," I say. "Crow wanted me to get him when you came."

My father shifts his weight, and his lips seem to tighten into a straight line. Doesn't look like he wants Crow to know. I bite the inside of my lip. Should I get Crow? I mean, "sure thing" doesn't mean I promised anything… right? I cross my arms. "You don't want him to know, do you?"

"I'd rather not," Father replies. He locks eyes with me, and I can see… fear buried in the deep blue. "What I'm about to say is… well, no one else can know."

"Ah." And Crow _is_ a bit of a blabbermouth. "He'll be here in ten minutes if I don't get him, so we don't have long…"

He nods. "I know. So, as I said before, where do you want me to start?"

"Well, there's the fact that you apparently won the Games when you were younger," I say. "Which one, how did you win, and why don't we live in the Victor's Village?"

"The 147th," he says. "I won because I…" He rubs the back of his head. "I… might have found a way to hack into the Gamemakers' system and set off the traps near the other tributes." My father pauses for a moment, then quickly adds, "That was after all of my allies had died, by the way." Sorrow fills his face, likely because he's remembering them.

"Why am I not surprised…?" I mumble. My father has always been a genius with technology—probably why he's the one in control of all the power stations back in District 5. Still, that must've been a _very_ impressive feat. "Anyways… Victor's Village."

He looks away from me, that unreadable mask coming back over his face. He doesn't say anything for a few moments. When he does… "We used to… but it was where… your mother and brother were murdered."

I gasp, my eyes widening in surprise. If I had been holding something, I probably would have dropped it. "They were… murdered…?" But I thought that it was an accident!

My father nods slowly. However, before he can say anything, the door slides open behind me. And, since I had been leaning against it, I fall backwards. Someone helps me up—it's Crow. He doesn't look too happy.

"Ya promised to come get me when he came!" Crow shouts at me.

"No I didn't," I reply.

"Uh… yeah, ya did."

"'Sure thing' isn't a promise," I retort.

"Ya still should've—"

I sigh, rolling my eyes. I don't want to deal with this right now. "Well, you want explanations, you can ask him yourself. I'm… going to go get some food."

I leave before he has the chance to protest, walking through three train cars until I get back to the car with all the snacks. I _am_ still hungry, since I was too nervous to eat much of anything for breakfast. No matter how much I tried to convince myself I was ready.

**XXX**

Before I know it, I have my first-ever glimpse of the Capitol in person. It's a bright beacon, even in the early afternoon hours. Lots of skyscrapers too; although what else should I have expected? Mansions? The people of the Capitol _definitely_ don't live in shacks or half-decent apartments, I know that much.

Still. Buildings that tall… are they _really_ safe?

Shortly after that first glimpse, Crow and my father are ushered into the car by the escort. I still need to get her name, because it's obviously not "Clown-Lady"… I don't get to say much to them, though, since immediately after we step off the train, I'm met by a group of three people who pull me away and into a nearby building.

My stylists. One man, and two women.

…They make clown-lady look like a perfectly normal person.

The man's skin is covered in so many tattoos in so many different colors I can't tell what color his skin is supposed to be. He legitimately looks like a walking rainbow, except with words and pictures, not straight lines.

The two women are no better, with neon pink hair made to stay up… in the shape of… a starfish, I think. One has golden streaks in it, while the other has purple. Other than that, the two look identical. Their clothes—if you can even _call_ them that—barely cover their… um… assets.

Capitol fashion? Definitely _not_ for me.

**XXX**

I suffer through dealing with them for at least three hours. At least they don't force me to wear something like Purple or Gold (what I've taken to calling them). Instead, they decided that my hair would be perfect to mess around with in simulating electricity. Being from District 5, I have no way of getting around that.

My outfit, a skintight electric-green jumpsuit with some sort of skirt attached to it, doesn't look like much at first. Then Rainbow presses a button on a tiny remote, and it looks like electricity is dancing across my skin. Er, the jumpsuit. Still, that kinda creeps me out, since I am not used to seeing energy this close to me except through glass.

Rainbow presses the button again and hands the remote to me. It's very, very small—so small I could hide it between two fingers. "Do I even need to explain what to do?"

"No… I can figure it out…" I reply, still staring at the remote.

He nods, and claps his hands together. "Goodie! Oh, but make sure that partner of yours knows when you're going to press it."

"Right."

With that, they leave me to my own business.

…Ugh, this thing is _way_ too form-fitting. I wish they could've made it a little looser, or added an undershirt or something. This… it just feels like I'm surrounded by a giant suction cup.

I sigh. Guess it's time I find clown-lady, Crow, and/or my father…

**To be continued…**

**_So, yeah. You don't have the full story yet, but more of it will come soon. And next chapter, Sky and Crow meet… four other tributes…? Yeah, four of them. And then there's also more screwing around with Sky, so…_**

**_Oh, Yoshi is not an OC by the way. He's Crow's younger brother in the manga, and I decided that I could use him as well. Mikio, on the other hand, is an OC, and of course is someone's younger brother. You'll see more of the 174th Games later on. Heck, it'll be explicitly referenced when it comes to the interviews, seeing as how a Fudo, a Hogan, and a *SPOILER* are all in this year's Games as well. *Evil grin*_**

**_I apologize for the stylists. I just couldn't think of anything else, and since Sky didn't bother to learn the clown-lady's name (that would be Lazar's wife, by the way), I just figured, why not give them characteristics that she can name them after? And so this happened. I'm also sorry that the costume more or less rips off Katniss and Peeta's costumes, except with electricity instead of fire. I just really, really wanted to do that._**

**_Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please, leave a review! You can tell me what you thought, or you can ask me questions, or, heck, you can flame my story if you want to! On second thought, don't flame it. Lucy will use it in her battle against my other muses._**


	4. Chapter 4: Awakening to a Nightmare

**_Thanks to Ulrich362, mcdinh, and Foxen Fudo for reviewing the previous chapter!_**

**_Ah, the fun continues. And by fun, I mean evil. And by evil… I _really_ mean evil. Heeheehee…_**

**_I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games. Enjoy, though…_**

**Chapter 4**

…Or rather, they find me. Crow's outfit is similar to mine, except, you know, not with a skirt. And his stylists fashioned him some sort of jagged, neon-yellow crown to hold his hair up instead of the grey headband he usually wears.

Thankfully, he doesn't make any comments about my costume, aside from, "Looking good, Sky!"

My father hits the back of the ginger's head after that, and I laugh.

It's weird… I never would have imagined my father coming with me.

I wonder what happened to the person who was supposed to be our mentor. I know it was a woman, a bit younger than my father. And her hair and eyes were a dark gold. I just… huh. I can't recall her name for some reason…

The clown-lady ushers me into another building, and… oh, lovely. It's the chariots. Already that time, huh?

Maybe not. The chariots and horses are all in order—and I can easily make out which one is mine and Crow's, by the fact that it's glowing—but no one else is here. "Um… are we here… early?"

"Oh, not by much, but yes," the escort replies. She grins, the makeup on her face making it seem a little creepy. "My mother always said, 'Early is on time. On time is late. Late is unacceptable.' I've lived by that for quite a while, and I've never missed a thing!"

Interesting philosophy. "So, when you say 'not by much', what do you mean?"

"The other tributes will be here within the next fifteen or so minutes."

**XXX**

She was right. It doesn't seem like much time passes before the next two tributes show up. One glance at their outfits tell me they're from District 3, electronics. They look like their stylists wanted to make them into fancy robots, since they look like they're wearing some sort of armor that is faintly glowing in several places. The girl looks like a cat robot, though.

The guy's hair is blue, and the girl's is charcoal black. I can't tell what color their eyes are, though, since they're both wearing visors.

I look over at Crow. "Wanna introduce ourselves?"

"Why not?" he replies. "Yo! District 3!"

I think his voice echoes some, and it's a lot more than he meant it to do. The male tribute trips in surprise, clattering to the floor—yep, they're definitely wearing metal of some sort—and the female just arches her back and hisses.

We run over to the two of them, and help up the guy who fell, since he was having difficulty standing up by himself. "Sorry," Crow says. "I didn't realize my voice would be that loud."

"Nya~! Just don't scare us like that, 'kay?!" the girl says, all cheerfully.

"It's alright," the blue-haired man replies. "I was probably going to fall anyways. This costume is so… heavy."

"Certainly sounded like it, when you hit the floor," I say. "You alright?"

He nods. "Yeah, I don't think I'm injured at all. I mean, I can stand." He pauses for a moment. "Oh! By the way, I'm Bruno. Bruno Anderson. And this is my district partner, Mia."

The girl meows in response. I smile in return, but can't help but question this girl's sanity. Unless she's just really good at acting like a cat, and is trying to fit in with her costume? Still not really sane, but better than flat-out crazy.

"Crow Hogan," my friend says, grinning.

"And I'm Sky Fudo," I finish. "Nice to meet you, Bruno and Mia."

The blue-haired young man's eyes widen, and his mouth drops into an 'O'. "Wait, Sky Fudo as in, daughter of the legendary Dr. Ryuu Fudo?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Uh… yeah, but I'd hardly call him _legendary_…" Unless he's talking about the fact that he won the 147th Hunger Games, but I doubt that. Why would someone from another district know about that when _I_ didn't?

If it's possible for his jaw to drop any more, it does. "What do you _mean_, he's not? Do you really not know?"

I blink. "I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"Your father single-handedly created the Ener-D Reactors that power, well, everything!" Bruno exclaims. "He's my hero, really!"

"Oh. That." Yeah, I knew my father created the Reactors. I just didn't think people cared that much. Well, this man _is_ from District 3, so anything related to electricity would definitely be important to him. I rub the back of my head. "Yeah… he did. Not single-handedly though. He had help." Of course, the man who _had_ helped my father died when I was a baby, so… I guess no one remembers him…

Even _I_ don't remember that man's name. I just know he exists.

It looks like he goes to reply, but someone bellows from the entrance, "Make way for the King!" much louder than Crow had called out earlier. God, this room is really echo-y.

We all turn—well, I turn around, the others just turn their heads—to see two more tributes walking towards us. A scowl instantly appears on my face as I figure out the two are from District 1. It's not that hard, honestly, since none of the other districts would be wearing outfits like they are.

They look like, for lack of better terms, a king and a queen. The male's outfit is entirely white, except where bits of royal purple are weaved into it. The female's is of a similar design, except there is a lot more purple than white. Both wear crowns studded out with jewels I can't even name, and they have a _ton_ of jewelry everywhere—bracelets, rings, a necklace for the woman, and earrings in the shape of an A on the man.

"Hmph," the man scoffs at us, after he gives us only one glance. "I hope there are other tributes in here worthy of being crushed under the boots of Jack Atlas."

"Why you—"

Someone grabs my wrist, and I snap my head to look at who. It's Crow, and he's shaking his head. "It's not worth it, Sky."

I narrow my eyes, but he does have a point. I yank my wrist out of his grasp, and instead of attempting to beat this blonde-haired, violet-eyed _fool_ into the ground, I just glare at him.

The woman, whose blue-grey eyes keep darting around everywhere as she squints—is she having difficulty seeing?—tugs on her partner's arm. "Jack, can't you wait until training to psych them out?"

"Pah! A true King lets _nothing_ stand in his way," he replies.

So, his name is… Jack? I'll have to remember that.

They go over to their chariot before I can catch the woman's name. Oh well.

All of the other tributes are funnelling in now, and I don't really get good looks at any of them, since someone orders us to get on the chariots.

"Nyaha~! Bye!" Mia cackles, pouncing over to her chariot.

"Ah, we'll see you later," Bruno says.

They go to their chariot, and we go to ours.

We're about to be seen in front of everyone.

**XXX**

We're about halfway through the procession when the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and goosebumps layer my arms. And I know that it's not because of the fake electricity dancing across my costume.

This can't be happening. Not on national television, when I'm not even at the end of this chariot ride yet. No, mysterious condition that I have. You can't activate just yet. I tighten my grip on the reigns, and will myself to stay on my feet, head held high, with a determined smile on my face. I'm pretty sure that it looks pretty forced by now.

…Oh, you stupid colors at the edge of my vision! Just wait like, five more minutes.

"Something wrong?" Crow whispers. It's barely audible above the noise surrounding us.

"It's happening. Right now." No context is necessary. This has happened enough times that he knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"Shit, that isn't good… Can you hold it off?"

"I'm trying…" It won't do me any good if I faint right now, start screaming at the top of my lungs, or if I started coughing up blood. Or all three at the same time.

"Well, I'll catch you if you fall," he replies. "Just hang in there, alright?"

**XXX**

Thankfully President Goodwin's speech isn't long at all. I don't think I really heard what he said, because of the throbbing in my skull. I'm more worried about my consciousness than some silly speech he repeats half the time.

As soon as it's over, and we're out of the range of the cameras, I stumble off of the chariot. Crow helps me sit down, and I let the colors completely fill my vision…

And I open my eyes to a nightmare.

_It's always the same. Five people, sitting at a table. Two adults, and their three children, who are probably no older than the age of three. I'm one of those children. The others, even though I know who they should be, don't have faces. No one in this nightmare does._

_A knock on the door._

_The mother gets up to answer it, but the boy makes it there first. He opens the door first._

_Faceless men in white. Peacekeepers. Along with someone who isn't one, and seems oddly familiar, despite also not having a face._

_BANG. BANG._

_Two gunshots, from the gun in the not-a-Peacekeeper's hands._

_The mother and her son both crumple to the ground. The woman, from a bullet to the chest. The boy, from a bullet to the head._

_Screaming. So much screaming._

_I crouch over the boy, and my three-year-old brain doesn't know what's really going on. I try to shake him awake, crying out his name…_

_…What was his name, again?_

**To be continued…**

**_Sky's sick, huh? And she doesn't remember her brother's name? And that dream?_**

**_Oh, all will be revealed in time…_**

**_In the meantime, please leave a review!_**


	5. Chapter 5: Black and Blue

**_Thanks to Ulrich362, mcdinh, Hope Hoshiko, and Foxen Fudo for reviewing the previous chapter!_**

**_Ah, the muses finally decided to sit down and work on one story (that wasn't Shimmer). Unfortunately, it was this one that they decided to work on. And I do mean unfortunately, because… well, lots of bad stuff happens in this chapter. Mostly to Sky. Oh, and two new people are introduced. Sky punches one of them in the face._**

**_Oh yeah… there's some swearing near the end, by people who aren't Crow, and don't really ever swear… ever. So I apologize for the slight OOC, but if I didn't include the swearing, I didn't like the flow of that scene._**

**_I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games, but I do own my OCs. Enjoy?_**

**Chapter 5**

I suck in a breath, coughing violently. A coppery taste fills my mouth; a side effect of whatever this is. Lacking any sort of tissue, I just cough again, and spit it out on the floor. The colors aren't quite gone yet, and so it looks like my blood glows golden to me.

Blinking a few times, I can see normally again. Crow's still with me, along with another tribute. All the others are gone. If I had to guess, Crow told them to go away (or something to that extent).

I stare at this only remaining tribute, a young man with stunning cobalt-blue eyes. His costume… I'm pretty sure it's made of white and silver rose petals. Leave it up to the Capitol to have something like the latter exist. So… District 11, perhaps?

"You should get checked out," he says. "Coughing up blood isn't normal."

"I'm fine," I say. "This… happens sometimes. I'm lucky, since the symptoms started in the middle of that parade." I narrow my eyes at him. His eyes… they look familiar for some reason. "Why are you… still here? Shouldn't you be with your district partner?"

For a few moments, he looks at me in confusion. Then he nods in a sudden realization. "Oh, yeah, you were unconscious. You wouldn't know…"

"Know what?"

"That you screamed out my name several times."

_That I… screamed out his name? But, the only thing I ever shout out when I'm suffering from my condition is…_ I gasp. "Your name… is it Yusei?"

The blue-eyed young man nods. "It is." He looks at me, puzzled. "How would you know? I don't remember introducing myself."

"Well…" I pause, thinking about my answer. "That's the only thing I ever scream when I'm unconscious because of my condition. I'm still not sure why."

"Hmm. That's… weird."

But he can't question me any further, because someone—I'd bet it's his district partner—calls, "Yusei! Hurry up, or our escort's going to leave you behind!"

Yusei stands up, calling over his shoulder, "I'm coming!" He faces me for a moment longer. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Sky."

"Y-Yeah," I reply. "See you later, I guess."

It's only after he's gone, and Crow helps me to my feet that I realize I never told him my name. I ask Crow, and he said that he didn't tell him either. I narrow my eyes in the direction that he went. _Yusei… just what kind of secrets are you hiding?_

**XXX**

About five minutes later, Crow and I get to the floor that we'll be staying in before the Games start. There's a masterful spread of foods on the table (or tables; I think there's more than one of them sandwiched together under that table cloth), but I'm not hungry in the slightest. In fact, I honestly feel sick. So I excuse myself from dinner, and make my way to my room.

I collapse onto my bed. Every part of my body feels like dead weight right now.

Ngh… whatever this condition is, I wish I didn't have it. Even though I've had it since before I can even remember anything, I still don't like it.

The colors. The nightmare. The blood. The exhaustion. All things I never wanted to deal with ever again, but that isn't exactly possible. Considering my situation, I'm going to be faced by the latter three of them on a daily basis soon enough.

I wish… I wish I was normal. I've become accustomed to this, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that the symptoms keep getting worse and worse. It's… killing me.

My eyes drift shut, and somehow I manage to fall asleep.

**XXX**

The next day, I still don't eat much. Sure, it's better than yesterday—I hadn't eaten dinner, after all—but I know that my father and Crow are worried about me. No amount of "I'm fine" or "Don't worry about it" will make them not worry about me.

"Maybe you should rest today," Crow says, while stuffing his face with at least three different donuts.

I shave my head fervently. "No way! I can't afford a day off of training. Besides," I pointedly lock eyes with Crow, and then my father, "for the thousandth time, I'm fine."

Dr. Fudo stares back at me. "Your wellbeing is more important than training."

"And I refuse to look like a wimp and the weakest tribute because I didn't go to training on the first day!" I add, my voice raised. "Besides, you know as well as I do that my episodes don't happen back to back. It's not like I'm going to have one again today."

He closes his eyes, and hums a little in thought. "I know I'm not going to win this argument…" he mumbles. He opens his eyes, and he looks entirely serious. "In that case, just promise me you won't push yourself past your limit."

I nod, smiling in victory. "I promise."

"Good. Crow," he looks over to my friend, "make sure she keeps that promise."

"No problem Pops!"

**XXX**

When we get to the expansive training room, all of the other tributes seem to be there. I see Mia engrossed at the knife-throwing station, with Bruno just kinda watching from the sidelines. They're in pretty normal clothes now, although Mia still has on this headband with cat ears on it. Most, if not all, of the weapons stations are full, with only three of the people lingering around survival stations.

"Man, looks like we'll have to get here earlier if we wanna fight," Crow comments disdainfully, looking at the hand-to-hand station in particular. The female tribute there seems to be pounding the crap out of the instructor. Geez, wonder how that guy got on her nerves.

"Ah well, survival stations are just as important," I say. "Let's go check out the edible plants station first, okay?"

He doesn't respond, so I sigh. I'm pretty sure I already know why. …Yep, he's staring at the blonde chick at the hand-to-hand combat station. I hit the back of his head—the same spot my dad had hit him yesterday—and say, "Crow, I swear, the day you get a girl to like you is the day I die."

"Ow…" he rubs the spot where I hit him. "Th-That's not true! _You_ like me! And so does Angel!"

"We're your sisters." Whether we're related by blood or not. "And when did I say I liked you?"

"Hikari and Kokoro like me!"

"They're kids. I mean someone your age, stupid." I hit him again, this time a bit more playfully.

He hangs his head, and sighs in defeat. "Meh, fine." He shoots right back up. "But, that doesn't mean what you said is right!"

"Whatever you say," I reply sarcastically.

**XXX**

Half an hour later, Crow's throwing his arms up in frustration. "Okay, you're our food gatherer. I suck at this crap."

We're at the edible plants station, and he keeps failing at identifying over half of the plants. Meanwhile I'm not having any issues at all with this. I thank my semi-photographic memory for that.

"Okay. I'm the food gatherer." I scratch my arm absentmindedly. "Why don't we go to a different station now?"

"Mm… ah…" he looks around at the stations that are not in use. "Ooh! How 'bout the fire starting station?"

…He says that with far too much excitement.

"Er…" I look over at the station. There are two people at it. Yusei, now in jeans and a dark blue jacket, along with whoever his district partner is. I can only see her back right now, but she has magenta hair and a similar colored dress on. Why someone would want to wear a dress while training is beyond me. "Sure…"

I could ask Yusei about how he knew my name.

We walk over there just as Yusei finishes showing his partner how to start a fire with two sticks. Though, his partner doesn't seem too interested in the over technical explanation of how it works.

I clear my throat, to announce our presence.

"Hm?" Yusei looks up, along with his partner. "Oh! Sky and… Crow, right?"

"Hey Yusei," I reply. I look at the girl from his district. She looks… strikingly familiar for some reason. I smile, and extend a hand. "Hi, I'm Sky Fudo, and this is Crow Hogan."

"Ah…?" something flickers inside of her amber, cat-like eyes. Recognition, I think. "Well… I'm… Akiza. Akiza… Izinski."

Izinski. A name I have come to hate over the past year. Mikio Izinski, the victor of last year's games. The one who… who…! The reason why she looked strikingly familiar hits me in a flash—her eyes and face look nearly identical to Mikio's. They must be siblings. Cousins, if they aren't brother and sister.

My hands curl into fists without me realizing it, and before I even know what I'm doing, I've punched Akiza in the face. She recoils with a shout, putting a hand over where I hit her. Yusei's eyes flare up in anger, and he grabs my wrist—I was aiming a second punch. "What the hell are you doing?!"

I give him the nastiest glare I can muster, which quickly goes to Akiza. "Mikio is the reason my little sister and brother are dead. But you wouldn't know that, would you? I bet all _you_ care about is the fact that your brother came home safe!"

"That… that's not…"

"Save me the bullshit." I whip around and storm off. If I flip out on her here, it won't bode well for me. I'm pretty sure fights aren't allowed except at the specific stations. "Outta my way!" I growl at the tributes who had started to form a circle around us.

And I run out of the training hall, to the bathroom. I take one look at myself in the mirror, and start crying. The wounds from that day are torn open again…

**To be continued…**

**_Yeah. That happened. I don't even want to explain myself right now._**

**_…Okay, I'll tell you one thing. Faithshipping._**

**_There. I told you something._**

**_…_**

**_…_**

**_…_**

**_You still want more? Fine, I'll tell you… if you leave a review._**


	6. Chapter 6: Reminiscence

**_Thanks to Ulrich362, mcdinh, Doccy Larsson Seraphim, Hope Hoshiko, Foxen Fudo, and KiryuFanGirl for reviewing the previous chapter! (Six reviews! That's double this story's norm! Whoooooooooop!)_**

**_Anyways, sorry for the wait. I wanted to make sure this chapter was perfect. And then the muses fought for a while... Well, this chapter should be interesting. And by that, I mean bloody and ridiculous. So... yeah..._**

**_I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games. Enjoy anyways!_**

**Chapter 6**

_It was a Saturday. I know it was, because I helped make pancakes for breakfast. We spent the day huddled around the television, watching, waiting for something to happen._

_The top five. I still couldn't believe that Natsumi and Yoshi have made it this far. Especially the latter, who had his foot crushed under a falling boulder on the first day of the Games. A warm smile crossed my face as I thought about how they actually had a chance, despite their injuries._

_It was honestly surprising, considering the other two tributes in the arena had more than proven themselves worthy. The girl from 1, taking on a group of three mutts with her bare hands—and surviving with only a minor leg injury, and the girl from 7, who had the uncanny ability to not attract attention. She'd killed two of the Careers and one of the other tributes without alerting them to her presence. Even this late in the Games, I didn't know their names. They wouldn't matter, anyways, because it was going to be one of my siblings that came home._

_At about three in the afternoon, Yoshi complained about a headache. As they were deep in the woods, Natsumi and Mikio—their ally from District 11—decided that they could rest. Yoshi, propped up against a tree, promptly fell asleep. Natsumi offered to gather food, and Mikio let her, opting to stay behind and make sure nothing happened to the sleeping boy._

_"Alright Mik, I'll be back in a flash!" my sister said, cheerfully. How she has managed to stay so cheerful throughout her ordeals was beyond me._

_She disappeared into the woods, and Mikio leaned against a tree. He blew his brown locks out of his eyes, the amber spheres that looked kind of like cat eyes._

_What happens next sucked the breath out of my lungs._

_Not once, not twice, but three times, he purposefully slammed his head—likely as hard as he could—against the tree. It made an awful racket, but Yoshi's response was to snort and roll over._

_Blood matted his brown hair, and to the naked eye, it would look like someone had hit him over the head with something hard. Why on earth would he do something like this?_

_The answer came a second later, when he pulled out a knife. I knew instantly what he intended to do, and no amount of me screaming could stop it._

_He stabbed Yoshi. In the chest, near the bottom of his ribcage._

_There was no surviving a wound like that. Not in the Hunger Games._

_Mikio yelped, and called out for my sister. She came running only a few moments later, saw Yoshi, and proceeded to panic._

_"Y-Yoshi!" she rushed to his side, fear in her eyes._

_The ginger, still really drowsy, slowly opened his eyes—and only halfway. "Ngh… Mimi…"_

_"S-Stop, don't speak…" Natsumi hushed. "Save your… your energy. Ev-Everything's going to b-be alright." Despite her efforts, tears steadily slid down her cheeks. "You're gonna live."_

_I nearly choked on my own tears—she had to know her words were wrong._

_Yoshi's mouth kept moving, although whatever he's saying was too quiet to hear. It didn't help that blood filled his mouth. Natsumi leaned closer, and started crying even harder._

_A cannon went off._

_My little brother… he just…! And Angel and Crow…! I looked over at them. Crow held Angel tightly, who was sobbing uncontrollably._

_And the tragedy didn't end there._

_A few hours later, after Natsumi decided they _had_ to hunt down who killed Yoshi—how could she fall for Mikio's tricks?—the two came to a clearing. It was then that Natsumi turned to face her only remaining "ally"… with her black katana in hand, fury in her eyes._

_"I know it was you," she growled. "I know you killed Yoshi."_

_The brunette tried to fake ignorance. "Wh-What? What are you talking about?"_

_"He… Yoshi… he told me that it was you who did it… with his last breath," the dark-haired girl replied, clearly trying to keep herself from crying. "Don't even try lying to me anymore!"_

_A scowl appeared on Mikio's face, and he straightened up. "I covered up what I did for no reason, then." He paused, and glared at his ex-ally. "Not that it matters—you die either way!"_

_She charged at him, aiming for his heart. But, before the katana could pierce flesh, Natsumi fell to the ground. Her blade clattered against rock, as she held her head and screamed._

Wh… what? How…?

_"Nnn… gah… what're you… aaah…?!"_

_One hand extended, the boy smiled. "Don't you remember my interview before the Games? I told them I was going to win—no question about it. This is why." He closed his fist, and suddenly my sister started clawing at her throat. "Telekinesis… an ability in legends, most would believe. But for some members of my family, myself included, it is anything but."_

T-Telekinesis…? That's not fair!_ I almost shouted at the screen._

_Natsumi continued to choke from whatever Mikio was doing to her. Her face turned red… then purple… then blue… and then…_

_BOOM._

_"Natsumi! NATSUMI!"_

_I remember a sob racking my body, before her lifeless body hit the ground… and then I blacked out until the next day._

**XXX**

I grip the sink so hard my knuckles turn white. Anything to keep myself on my feet. That day… no matter how hard I tried not to remember it, I still would. It hurt… so much. All because of… Mikio Izinski…

…

But not Akiza.

Oh god. I've made a horrible mistake.

I turn around, ready to go hunt down the young woman I punched and swore at. I don't really care if I look like I've been crying or not. Just as I go to open the door, someone on the other side does.

It's Akiza. Her left eye is swollen, with a black-and-blue mark around it. It looks like it had been bleeding until recently. As soon as she sees me, she gasps, and takes a step back. "I… I'm… D-Don't hurt me…"

I raise my hands up, palms toward her. "I won't. I… I really… lost it back there…" I bite the inside of my lip. "I'm sorry, Akiza. I shouldn't have hit you."

She looks away, he eyes squeezed shut. "No… what my brother did… it's unforgivable."

"That's the thing. Your _brother_ did it, not you," I reply. "There was no reason for me to have hit you."

The magenta-haired woman remains silent. It looks like she has something else to say, but she won't talk.

"A-Anyways… I'll, uh, see you around," I say.

"Yeah… I guess…" she mumbles.

**XXX**

"You did _what_?!" my father roars, once I return to the floor reserved for District 5.

I couldn't exactly keep what I did a secret. Pretty much all of the other tributes, and a couple of the instructors, saw what happened. He would have found out about it, regardless of whether or not I told him.

"I punched… Akiza Izinski… in the face," I repeat, slower this time.

Ryuu Fudo goes quiet, and looks away. He recognizes the last name, no doubt. After what seems like a minute, he looks back at me. "It doesn't matter who it was. You shouldn't have done that."

"I know." I remember the look in her eyes after I hit her. Fear, hurt… and sympathy. All at the same time. "I apologized to her about half an hour ago, and she accepted it." At least I think she did. She didn't really say much of anything.

"That doesn't make it any better," he replies, running his hand through his black hair. "You could have just cost yourself some sponsors."

I look at him, an eyebrow raised. "Like the other tributes and the instructors who saw that hold any sway over whether or not I get sponsors."

My father shakes his head. "You don't know? Most of the main sponsors—the higher-ups of the Capitol—watch everything that happens in the training facility. They look to see who's the strongest; who has the best chance of winning."

"Oh." I mentally facepalm. I should have known that.

"And they generally don't go with the person who starts fights."

"Right." My shoulders sag. I already felt really bad about hitting Akiza. Now it feels even worse. It doesn't help that I still don't feel one hundred percent after my episode yesterday.

After that, he leaves me to my own business. Considering how late it is, I eat a few things off of the table, and go to my bed.

I don't get much sleep. I'm haunted by too many nightmares—memories and fabrications of my mind, blurring into one.

So many questions… and no answers to any of them…

**To be continued…**

**_So... That's it for this chapter. You know what happened in the previous Games now. Mikio has telekinesis. That will actually be important later on (but not for the reason you would expect)._**

**_Aha... Review?_**


	7. Chapter 7: Misgivings

**_Thanks to Ulrich362, mcdinh, Foxen Fudo, and Doccy Larsson Seraphim for reviewing the previous chapter!_**

**_I'm not sure why, but this story seemed to come really easy today. So you guys get an update. Not a lot of evil. Just training and settling an issue._**

**_Oh! And I'm using the names Lucciano and Brave because I like their Japanese names better than their English ones (also I don't even know what Brave's English one _is_, so yeah)._**

**_I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games, obviously. Enjoy!_**

**Chapter 7**

The next day, I wake up early. So early that the sun isn't up yet. The training room is officially open all day and night, no one just ever uses it that long (plus the instructors leave after 10:00 PM). I leave a note on my bed, so that Father and Crow won't freak out that I've gone missing, grab an apple from the table in the lounge, and head downstairs.

As I suspected, no one is here yet, aside from one of the instructors preparing a few of the survival stations. She notices me, shrugs a little, and goes back to her work at the knot-tying station. In the silence, I can hear her grumble something about me…

Oh well.

I turn my attention to the combat stations. There are a lot more of them than I had expected. Hand-to-hand, swordfighting, bow-and-arrow… and a bunch of others for various weapons. I would have to check out the dagger-throwing station at some point… but I kind of want to check out the various types of swords they have.

…

Well, they all have to be different types, but I certainly can't name them all. I can tell a few of them are meant to be two-handed; I'll ignore those for now. The others are of varying lengths, from who the heck would wield one that long to borderline dagger. Hmm… I really can't decide which one to choose, so I pick one at random.

The one I grabbed I actually know the name of. With its one-edged and slightly curved blade, it's a katana. A katana… just like Natsumi used… I find it… surprisingly light as I give it a few practice swings. Even though it feels pretty light, it slices through the air like nothing, and feels like it could cut through a person like butter.

…I shouldn't think like that, but I can't deny that a blade like this would be useful in the Arena.

Now that I have a blade, I walk into the training area. And by that, I mean this giant room that can create holograms of fake opponents to attack me. Since they're holograms, they can't actually hurt me, although I've heard that it feels like an electric shock if they hit you in any way.

**XXX**

"Hngh!" I grunt as I swing the blade at another hologram. I take off its arm, and with another swing right through its midsection, it shatters. I let out a huge sigh and sit down. My arms ache pretty badly—I don't have any idea how long I've been in here—and I'm out of breath. I need to rest a bit.

Wait, I probably shouldn't do that in the room filled with holographic enemies.

I stand up while spinning around. Just in time, because there was yet another holographic enemy behind me. With that one taken care of, I leave the room.

I look up at a clock on the wall. 7:30. I'd been in there for over an hour. No wonder I was so exhausted. Although, the other tributes should be arriving soon now. I need to get to some of the other stations first. And, you know, not spend so much time at it.

"That was quite a formidable feat," an accented female voice tells me.

I stumble in surprise, and look over my shoulder. It's the blonde woman from 7—the one Crow was checking out yesterday. "Huh?" My brain catches up with my mouth, and I add, "Oh, you were watching me?"

She nods. "Yes, I was. If only because I was waiting for you to finish."

Now I notice the two-handed sword she wields. "Sorry about that," I say. "I lost track of time… and I didn't think anyone else was here, either."

"Do not worry about it," the woman replies. "I had been busy at another station until just a few moments ago."

Okay, good. I didn't make her wait for a long time. "Well… um, I think I'm going to go to the archery station before one of the others claims it." Even though we're the only two tributes in here at the moment. "Good luck…?"

"Sherry," the woman says, after I pause. "My name is Sherry LeBlanc."

"Mm. Sky Fudo," I reply.

I wonder if she could be an ally in the Arena…? She'd definitely be a good choice. From what I saw yesterday, she's Career material. But, since she isn't from 1, 2, or 4… Yeah, there's a chance I might have her as an ally.

**XXX**

I'm on the roof of the building that all the tributes live in while we're here. It's a quaint little area, with a sort-of courtyard feel to it. It even has a bridge to a separate part of the roof. Of course, courtyards aren't on the top of buildings, and they don't have safety barriers around it to prevent people from committing suicide.

I smile as I think about how well today went. I met most of the other tributes, like Kalin and Nico from 12, Misty and Lucciano from 8, oh, and I finally learned the District 1 female tribute's name: Carly. She definitely has bad eyesight—now that she isn't in front of the cameras, she wears these really thick glasses that almost hide her eyes.

Yusei and Akiza avoided me. No surprise there.

Ugh… Crow also introduced me to Brave, Sherry's partner. I'd rather forget about him—he's more or less a carbon copy of my adopted brother. I'm pretty sure I can only deal with _one_ always-smiling, immature idiot. At least Brave doesn't flirt with every single woman he sees.

Still. He's annoying, and of _course_ Crow wants him in our alliance. Oh well. I guess I'll have to deal with it. It's not like I hate Brave so much I want to kill him in the Games.

No, that spot's reserved for the ever-so-arrogant Jack from District 1. Although there are a couple of others I'm not particularly fond of. Kasai from 2 seems… not right in the head (as in, I saw him practically worshiping the fire-making station). That Lucciano boy—actually the youngest competitor—also struck a wrong chord with me. I can't quite place it, but it's like the boy radiates evil or something.

But… other than those three, I don't really want to kill anyone.

…

Will I really have to…?

A star shoots across the sky, distracting me from my thoughts. I can't be having second thoughts, anyways! I volunteered to come here… and I'm going to win the Games. For Natsumi and Yoshi… I'll kill anyone not part of our alliance.

Stil…

My ears twitch when I pick up a strange noise. And by strange noise, I mean someone faintly sobbing. It's so quiet that it has to be on the other half of the roof. Well, now I'm just curious. I cross the bridge, and the person I see crying is not who I would have expected.

"Akiza?!"

The magenta-haired woman jerks her head up, and stares at me in surprise. She wipes her arm over her eyes, and after that, refuses to make eye contact with me. "Oh. You."

I clear my throat—the silence is just awkward, even though it _is_ warranted. "Um… yeah. Me. So… uh…" _How do I ask this without sounding rude? _"There a reason why you were crying?"

"Couldn't sleep," she replies. "I just… I just can't stop… thinking about this past year…"

My heart sinks. _You and me both, Akiza…_ I think. Though, I can't voice a reply.

"…I lost him too, you know," Akiza mumbles.

"Huh?"

"Mikio. My brother." She stares at her lap, fiddling with her hands. "Maybe he isn't… dead like your siblings are… but I still lost him that day." Her eyes fill up with tears again. "He hasn't been the same since he came home. He isn't the cheerful little brother I used to have. Now… Now all Mikio does is sulk in his room and stare out the window!"

I inadvertently take a step back in surprise. I never thought… I never thought that Mikio's victory hurt some of his own family. Never thought about the psychological problems that could have caused.

"If… If that's what it means to be a victor… I don't want to win!" Akiza shouts. "I… I would rather die still being _me_ than become some emotionless shell of a human being!"

The awkward silence returns, although it's for a different reason. I can't think of how to respond to that. The boy I've spent the last year hating… doesn't even interact with his family. He isn't really… a person anymore. And now his sister is afraid of following in his footsteps…

…Actually, now something comes to mind. "Does Yusei know about this?"

"Mikio? Yeah," she says. "Not about my misgivings, though. He can't know about that."

"Why not? Aren't district partners supposed to trust each other fully?"

"He would just worry about me more than he already is," she says. I swear she blushes a little as she says that. "Sometimes he pays more attention to my safety than his own… I'm surprised he hasn't severely hurt himself before…" Akiza chuckles a little, and adds, "I bet if you hadn't stormed out of the training hall yesterday, he would've fought you."

"That protective, huh?"

"Yeah." Her mood falls again. "I can't blame him, though. I'm pretty much the only person he has left. His mother… she was his only family, and she died last month."

"Oh." Sympathy pangs through me for a woman I don't even know. "W-Well…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pile all of my problems on you," Akiza says suddenly, standing up. "I think… I think I can finally sleep now."

"Mm." Before she walks away, I add, "Can you tell Yusei I'm sorry for overreacting yesterday?"

"I will."

**To be continued…**

**_What happened to Yusei's mother will be further detailed later._**

**_And Akiza has a ton of misgivings about the Games, too._**

**_Heehee, I'm looking forward to the rest. If all goes to plan, the actual Hunger Games should start in two or three chapters._**

**_Anyways, please review!_**


	8. Chapter 8: So Little Time

**_Thanks to Ulrich362, mcdinh, and Foxen Fudo for reviewing the previous chapter!_**

**_So I have an Internet connection for right now, although only on an iPad. I'm managing to update this because I finished this chapter before we left on vacation (that was three days ago) and just didn't have the time to update it then. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if some of it is kind of weird._**

**_I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games._**

**Chapter 8**

I can't help but be nervous today. It's been two weeks since we tributes came to the Capitol, meaning that it was time for us to show off our skills—individually, I might add—to the Gamemakers and whoever else decides to hang out in that area. We get scores for how well we impress them, and the people with higher scores generally end up with more sponsors.

And even though I've had two weeks to prepare, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do. I mean, I've pretty much done everything that I can already in training. There's nothing special about being awesome with a katana (and the fact that there are others who will probably use a sword in their session). I probably should have held back at the knife-throwing station, but I didn't, so they already know how good I am at it… other than that, I can identify edible plants and stuff…

But I'm no good at the _cool_ things; the ones that will stand out. Chucking something extremely heavy across a room… shooting a bow… painting really good camouflage…

"Crow Hogan, District 5," a voice announces.

"Well, wish me luck," my orange-haired friend mutters as he stands up from his seat.

"You don't need it," I mumble back.

He grins, and heads into the room.

I grip the bench even harder. Crow has five minutes in there, which means I have only five minutes to come up with something to show off.

"…!" My eyes practically bulge out of my head as I register my overwhelmingly familiar condition activating. Crap… not now… please, not now. It was bad enough at the chariot ride. Now, when I'll have absolutely nothing to hide behind? Not only that, but it shouldn't activate now. It's only supposed to be once a month, and it's only been half of one.

So then… why now…? Does fate have a weird sense of humor, or does it just hate me?

I stare at the ground, eyelids twitching as I take deep breaths. In… out… in… out…

The colors are overwhelming.

I don't know why I see those colors when this activates, thought. I can't really describe it to other people, either. It's like… everything has its own, but not what you see normally. Living things have a bright color around them—which changes depending on what they're feeling—and inanimate objects are shades of grey and black… I can even see them with my eyes shut.

…Wait…

Could that…?

Could I use this to my advantage…?

That is, if I don't pass out first…

**XXX**

"Sky Fudo, District 5."

I force myself off of the bench, and offer a strained smile to my adopted brother as he walks out of the room. He just high-fives me in return. I don't think he can tell that I'm suffering rather than extremely nervous… Granted, he sucks at reading people _and_ he's already really excited about whatever the heck he did in there.

The attendant shuts the door behind me as I stumble into the room. That must be a _lovely_ first impression for the Gamemakers/sponsors who haven't seen me in training. Sweaty, nearly hyperventilating, and barely able to walk.

_…Please, oh please, just let me pull this off._

With a determined grunt, I walk over to the stand with all of the random objects used for camouflage and other such things on it. …Perfect, there's a strip of cloth just long enough for a blindfold. I grab it, look up at where the Capitol residents are seated, and smile—just like the one Crow always has on his face. "Hope you're prepared for a show!" I call.

I tie the strip around my eyes. That must already have them curious. I mean… I don't think anyone's ever blindfolded themself before. Much less do what I'm going to do…

I walk over to the stand that holds daggers. I grab one, and fling it at the target. I can't tell exactly _where_ on the target it landed—unfortunately the color-vision doesn't let me tell that much—but I'm not aiming for the bullseye. I'm making a design.

…

When I remove the blindfold after I finish throwing all of the daggers, I smile again. Spread across two of the targets, the knives spell out my initials—SF.

Good… I managed to control… my condition long enough to help… me…

The moment I exit the room, I collapse to the ground.

**XXX**

"Nnn…" My eyelids tense up a little as I start regaining consciousness.

Someone shifts their weight in a chair besides me, and I hear them say, "Hey! She's waking up!" It takes a second for the voice to click. Crow. "C'mon, open your eyes!"

"Maybe if you weren't so loud, I would," I retort, although my voice is a little scratchy. To make my point even further, I keep my eyes shut.

He consequentially punches my arm. Not really hard; the playful way. Still. "Well, her sense of humor's the same. Looks like we don't have to worry about those nasty side effects the docs' were talking about."

I open my eyes, and see that my father is there as well—he was the one Crow was talking to. "Side… effects?" I ask. What in the world is my adopted brother talking about?

Father refuses to make eye contact with me as he says, "The doctors found what was causing your periodic episodes… and removed it."

"Huh?" Something was… _causing_ those?

Crow picks up an object off of the table next to my bed. It's in a glass dish… whatever the heck it is. It's a dark grey machine, shaped almost like some sort of spider, about the size of a quarter… but it doesn't have a plug or anything… "This is it. It was stuck in your head, doin' all kinds of weird stuff to your head."

I stare at it blankly. It looks… a lot like a couple of my father's inventions. But that couldn't be it—my father wouldn't purposefully cause me to suffer. "Electromagnetic pulses, I guess?" That's what the devices Father made do.

The black-haired man nods, but doesn't say anything.

Okay… that's totally unlike my father. I mean more or less ignoring me. What the heck is up with him…?

"Oh, y'know they almost had to delay the Games 'cause of you, right?" Crow interjects, breaking the following awkward silence.

"Crow, I just woke up like two minutes ago. How the heck was I supposed to know?" I respond. "Although… what do you mean by that?"

"You've been out for three days," he says.

Three… days… that means the Games are due to start… tomorrow. "But… what about interviews? I thought they're supposed to be the day of the scoring," I say.

"Yeah… those were postponed to tonight," Crow says.

"And… what time is it now?"

"Three PM."

**XXX**

I'm barely given a chance to gather my bearings before I'm discharged from the medical area and rushed to my stylists. While all of the others (except Crow's, since he was apparently with me the whole time) have had the three days while I was unconscious to perfect their tribute's interview outfit, mine have all of three hours to _make_ one.

Yeah, that instantly puts a damper on the mood.

They end up giving me these white sandals with diamonds on them. Flat-footed, since it was obvious that I didn't mix very well with heels. My dress matches my hair color—golden, and actually pretty loose. The bottom's long too, with jagged edges like lightning bolts. So I instantly like it more than the outfit I had to wear in the chariot ride.

No fake electricity this time, though. Just an illusion created by the material.

Now I just have to worry about my interview. I have to be prepared for so many different questions and not get upset because of them. The biggest would be references to Natsumi and/or Yoshi. It's almost guaranteed that I'll get asked about them. I think the second biggest would be about Akiza, since… well… what her brother did in last year's Games.

I wonder what else they'll ask?

Subconsciously, I twist the ring on my finger. I bet they'll ask about who gave it to me, and then make a huge scene about it. I don't want that big of a deal made out of my engagement, though.

Ugh… Thinking about it gives me a headache…

Besides, I usually do the best improvising.

Only an hour until my interview, then.

And less than a day until I'm plunged into the Hunger Games…

**To be continued…**

**_Yeah, this was interesting. Oh, but don't think Sky's gonna become OP with that power all of a sudden. She won't. Actually, I don't think she'll ever use it again. At least not in this story._**

**_Well, please leave a review!_**


	9. Chapter 9: Questioned

**_Thanks to mcdinh, Ulrich362, and Foxen Fudo for reviewing the previous chapter!_**

**_I guess this is my holiday update. I wanted to upload it on the 25th, but... celebrations, y'know. And then on the 26th, not only was the Internet not working, but I got myself banned from electronics for that day. Finally, yesterday was the 12 hour drive home, so I couldn't update then._**

**_Anyways, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!_**

**_I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the Hunger Games. Enjoy!_**

**Chapter 9**

I'm so deep in thought thinking about what I could possibly be asked that I completely miss them calling my name. Crow has to nudge me… and by that, I mean he kicks the back of my leg. Typical bird-brain.

I shoot him a glare, make sure my dress isn't sticking out in odd places, and walk on stage.

It's bright. A lot brighter than in the hallway. But I resist squinting, and instead put on a smile as I walk over to the chair I'm supposed to sit in.

Lazar, the announcer for as long as I can remember, seems happy to see me… for some reason. Although… now that I look closer at him… he kinda looks like the clown-lady that's my escort… Huh. Are they related?

"Ah, finally, the woman we all wanted to meet," he says with a devilish grin.

"I can't be _that_ important," I say, absentmindedly. He has to be overstating things; I'm not _that_ much more interesting than the others… unless… "Oh, if you're talking about me nearly having the Games postponed, I'm _sooooooo_ sorry about that…" Not really, but I think that'll get me brownie points from sponsors. Maybe.

The purple-haired man's response is not what I expected. He just up and laughs. _Laughs!_ And I have no idea why! "I see you're trying to make light of that marvelous score," he says, once he stops laughing.

My stomach falls, and I think my face flushes. I don't actually know what my score is. "Um… y-yeah… my score…" I rub the back of my head, and I think the cheesiest grin possible appears on my face. "About that… I was sent off to my stylists right after waking up, and then I came right here… No one… No one told me what my score was."

It gets so quiet that I can actually hear a cricket chirping. I'm not kidding—there must be one in a wall or something. I guess they expected me to know what my score was without someone telling me about it.

"You mean… you really don't know?" Lazar says, a surprised look on his face.

I shake my head. "Like I said, no one told me what it was. Or do you expect me to _magically_ know it, when I was unconscious when they were revealed?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that," he replies, waving his hand dismissively at me. "Well, that means we'll get to see your first reaction to it, then. You scored a 12, Miss Fudo."

At this point my brain decides that it doesn't matter that I am on national television, and simply shuts down. I'm pretty sure, on the outside, I look like a fish out of water. _No one_ scores a 12. It hasn't happened in the past fifty years, at least. There's always people with scores of 10 and 11… but… "…_Twelve_…?" I whisper. "I… that… I don't understand. I… I'm not special…"

The clown man laughs again, which is really starting to annoy me. "But of _course_ you're special! You scored the first 12 in over seventy years!" It looks like he attempts to be serious after that, as his mock cheerfulness tones down a little. At least it's bearable now… "Not only that, but you're trying to follow in your younger sister's footsteps, aren't you?"

Ah. Here it is. The question I was prepared for. My extreme confusion gets replaced with calmness, and I smile warmly at the memory of Natsumi. "Yeah, I'm following in her footsteps… but I'm going to win." I look up at the ceiling, as though that helps me remember her any more than I do now. "Not just for the family I have that's still alive, but for her. I'm… going to win for Natsumi… and Yoshi. You remember him too, don't you?"

I'm pretty sure I heard a massive "Aw…" from the audience. Like I was a dejected puppy or something adorable. The thought of that makes me sick; I'd rather not be viewed as a helpless tribute.

Then again, I _did_ apparently score a 12.

I'm either going to have a ton of sponsors, or everyone's going to be out for my blood. Once I'm in the Arena, it's probably the latter.

"Quite a… noble goal, if you ask me," Lazar ends up saying, pulling me back to reality. "And I assume your district partner is going to be the person winning with you?"

"Of course," I reply. "It wouldn't be fair to have a repeat of last year, would it?" My gut twists itself into knots again, and I want to cry about how indifferent I sound about my siblings' deaths. But my brain _now_ cares that I'm on national television, so no crying for me. "But… enough about that. Anything else you'd like to ask before my time's up?"

"Now that you ask… How are you liking your stay in the Capitol?"

I nod a couple of times as I try to come up with an answer. "It's been… interesting. The fashion seems a bit bizarre sometimes, but the food's great," that gets a chuckle out of the audience, "and I've made a bunch of new friends. I think I've got myself a pretty stable alliance." …Well, not really, but they don't need to know that. I have no idea how we'd stand against the Careers, or any of the other strong tributes.

"So… you aren't joining the Careers?" Lazar asks with a surprised look on his face.

Right. Districts 1, 2, and 4 generally let the other tributes with high scores join them. But I know exactly who one of the tributes from 1 is… "With that Jack Atlas leading them?" I scoff at the thought. "No way. I can't _stand_ that guy."

Lazar laughs again, and then a timer goes off.

Looks like I'm done here.

But… I make sure to flash my ring at the cameras as I'm leaving, to make sure that Shoshan knows I didn't take it off or anything. I just hid it under my hand while I was sitting there. No way I was letting them make a big scene out of it.

**XXX**

With my nervousness gone, I actually pay attention to the rest of the interviews… even though only a few stick out to me. Crow's goes over pretty well—and by that, I mean he charmed everyone and made them all laugh. A lot.

Brave's interview goes over a lot like Crow's. Lots of jokes, and lots of smiles. Although, there _is_ one thing he says while being entirely serious: both of his older brothers, Dragan and Harold, have participated in and won the Hunger Games in previous years. "It's like a family tradition! Or… maybe it's more of a rite of passage…? Either way, I'm not letting them down!" he exclaims with yet another grin.

Sherry, on the other hand, is nowhere _close_ to being as open as her district partner. She's mostly quiet, and when she answers questions she either does so in another language or only in a few words.

Lucciano… ugh… he sits there acting all high and mighty just like I bet Jack did during his interview. He apparently got an 11 in his Gamemakers' session, which nets him big points due to him being the youngest tribute here.

The girl from 8, Misty, sticks out because I recognize her last name. Tredwell. Her younger brother, Toby, had been allied with Yoshi, Natsumi, and Mikio… until they'd gone so far into this tunnel that the cameras shut out. When they came back on, Toby was dead. It wasn't until after the Games were over that his "official" cause of death was by falling off a cliff. Evidently, Misty doesn't believe that—she thinks that Mikio had done the same to her brother as he did to my siblings. Unlike me, however, Misty seems determined to kill Akiza…

Huh. Just like the tributes from 6, neither of the tributes from 9 or 10 stick out much.

But then Yusei's up, and I force myself to pay attention. He still hasn't really forgiven me for punching Akiza in the face, or at least that's what it seems like to me. He just kind of avoids me at all cost. Anyways, in his interview, he talks about how he'll keep Akiza safe no matter what it takes.

Geez. Akiza wasn't kidding when she said Yusei was a bit overprotective.

…I can't really blame him, though. Even after the interview, I still don't know much about what happened to his mother… but if she died only a short while ago, that must still be hard on him. …I wonder what happened to the rest of his family, though…

And then it's Akiza's turn. Of course she gets asked about Mikio, but she doesn't say anything about his mental health. She _does_ say that she plans to win… for someone whose name she wouldn't reveal. I couldn't help but note that she grabbed at her strange pendant when she said that… But I have no idea what that means.

And then, of course, came Kalin and Nico, the tributes from 12. They're both relatively calm, with both of them talking about this boy named West—Nico's younger brother, apparently, and Kalin is the one who takes care of them. They both want to get home for him… And, of course, win the extra food for their district. Right… ever since my father and that other man created a new source of power, the coal from District 12 hasn't been… really relevant, I guess. They've been struggling…

Hmm. Kalin and Nico seemed nice enough back in training. Maybe… maybe I should actually keep an eye out for them. I mean, if I don't ally with them…

Is… is that really all for tonight…? Then that means… I only have… one more night to sleep.

One more, before… the Games begin…

**To be continued…**

**_So, there's the most important interviews that occurred after Sky. I think I fit a ton of twisted canon in there, too. Like Misty hating Akiza... oh, and did you catch what I did with Team Ragnarok? Heh._**

**_If it wasn't obvious before, I'm twisting a bunch of their ages..._**

**_Oh, but next chapter will be REALLY fun. There's this suspenseful scene at the beginning that I couldn't fit into this chapter, and then the Hunger Games start._**

**_Hee hee hee..._**

**_Don't worry, though. Sky's luck will be nonexistent after the next chapter. I am NOT making her into a Mary Sue._**

**_Please, leave a review!_**


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